Lady Gaga's Family Found Out About Her Rape Only After Her Oscars Performance

The “Poker Face” star has been open about being raped at the age of 19 but hadn't told several members of her family about her sexual abuse before taking to the stage at the Oscars on Sunday night to perform her track “Til It Happens To You” from college rape documentary The Hunting Ground.

In an emotional post on Instagram, Gaga revealed that both her grandmother and aunt called her after the powerful rendition, praising her for her bravery.

"My grandmother (in the middle) and my Aunt Sheri (on the right) both called me the day after the Oscars because I never told them I was a survivor," Gaga wrote alongside the picture. "I was too ashamed. Too afraid. And it took me a long time to even admit it to myself because I'm Catholic and I knew it was evil but I thought it was my fault. I thought it was my fault for ten years."

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While Gaga has previously struggled to accept her past, the fact her relatives are so proud of her has been affirming for the star.

"The morning after the Oscars when I talked to my grandmother Ronnie, with tears in her eyes I could hear them welling through the phone she said to me 'My darling granddaughter, I've never been more proud of you than I am today,'" Gaga continued. "Something I have kept a secret for so long that I was more ashamed of than anything—became the thing the women in my life were the most proud of. And not just any women, the ones I look up to the most.#BeBrave #speakup #tilithappenstoyou."

For the Oscars performance, Gaga was joined on stage by 50 other sexual abuse survivors, who had phrases like, "Not your fault," "Unbreakable," and "Survivor" scribbled on their forearms, which they raised in unison at the end of the song.